Cheesecake
by auslly-is-adorkable
Summary: Casey has had enough of Truman's games. Even after she broke up with him, he texts and texts. He gets threatening. One night, on her way to Smelly Nellie's for some cheesecake, she's greeted by him once more. She's beaten until Derek saves the day. But her minor injuries turn out to be slightly more serious. Will Derek realize his feelings for her while she's hospitalized? *Dasey*


_**Hi there! Just a little note before the story. This is my first **_**Life With Derek**_** fic. My general field is **_**Austin & Ally**_**. So I'm seeing how this goes. This will only be a one-shot. It's a Dasey story.**_

_** I really just want to emphasize the pseudo-incest before reading. This is not actual definitive incest because the characters Casey and Derek are **_**not **_**in fact blood-related.**_

_** Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.**_

_** Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own **_**Life With Derek**_**, all rights and reserves go to respective owners.**_

Other than having a step-brother she despised, two less-annoying-but-still-pretty-bad younger step-siblings and a pushover stepfather, Casey's life wasn't awful. She was almost finished her senior year in high school and off to Queens University in the fall. Unfortunately, the step brother she hated, Derek Venturi, was somehow also offered a scholarship to Queens. It was impressive considering he hardly knew what a scholarship was.

One thing she hated about Derek was that. How she works her butt off and works hard at everything she's ever done and somehow he just glides through life like work was a foreign concept.

Casey McDonald hated her older brother, Derek. Fortunately, they were essentially equals in the home because the age difference was relatively insignificant. Six months didn't exactly create a seniority in the house, especially considering the fact that they were in the same grade.

Even though Casey had the hardest time adjusting to a new city, new home, new family, new rules, new school, new friends and new position on the hierarchy of the family, she _did _eventually adjust. Her younger sister, Lizzie, in grade eight, didn't have as hard a time because her counterpart, Edwin, Derek's younger brother (also in grade eight) was far more tolerable than Derek. And to complete the newly-blended family, Derek's little sister, Marti didn't seem to mind the mix at all. Of course there was the issue with the newfound – but extremely necessary – rules in the house. However, once understood, Marti the munchkin found a place in the girls' hearts.

Nora and George – newlyweds – didn't exactly experience love at first sight, but they knew that there was something. A spark, perhaps? They had hoped their families would get along. For the most part they did! But Nora's daughter, Casey and George's song, Derek didn't. They were immediately thrown off at each other's game. Derek is a laid-back kind of guy with an attitude. Casey is a persistent girl with high expectations and an attitude as well. They both clash.

How did George and Nora even begin to think this would work?

From the bedroom battles to the bathroom shampoo fights to meatloaf slingshots at dinner to bands to the Guy Code to Babe Raider to feminism to national television gigs to pink laundry to TV remote wrestling matches, Casey and Derek have gone through it all.

But Casey is determined to make her university experience a memorable one and if that means trying to be nice to Derek before they leave then so be it.

The only problem was her ex boyfriend, Truman French. He was that cliche bad-boy type. He cheated on her once with her cousin and she was kind enough to forgive him. He did it again with the _same _cousin. She vowed to never trust him again. At first his apologies were through texts and emails. Then telephone calls. Then at school. He kept trying to apologize but she kept resisting. Part of the reason was the principle. She had morals. After being hurt twice she wasn't going to let it get worse. Even _Derek_ had enough of this guy.

Then Truman got a little weird. He'd corner her at school and demand it. She'd push him away and leave. She had had enough of him. Whatever feelings that were there during the relationship were indubitably gone now.

Casey wasn't one for games.

One morning, she woke to the sound of her alarm clock, indicating it to be 6:45AM, the start of another school day. She easily slid her feet in her bunny slippers and shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen, where Edwin, Lizzie and George were busy with breakfast.

Tired, she rubs her eyes and stifles a yawn.

"Mornin', Case," Lizzie says cheerfully, putting a cup of milk in front of her.

Casey smiles in response. "Thanks, Liz," she says, taking a big gulp of her milk.

Just then Derek strolls in, taking his usual place on the stool beside her. "Ed. Cereal. Now," he orders Edwin, who immediately obliges.

"You're so rude," Casey grimaces.

He looks at her and gives her a knowing look. "Yep," he agrees, pouring a big bowl of corn flakes.

She rolls her eyes at him, disgusted by how he treats his own brother. She finishes her milk and a quick banana before proceeding upstairs to get dressed.

She checks her phone for the weather and notices a text. It's from Truman.

_What the hell, Casey? I said I was fucking sorry._

She groans and falls back on her bed, annoyed.

"Looked in the mirror again, eh Space-Case?" Derek says, appearing at her doorway.

"Go away, Derek," she mutters, sitting up.

He takes a step inside and continues brushing his teeth, something she didn't realize until that moment that he had already been doing. He leans against the wall. "What's the problem," he manages to say with the brush in his mouth.

"Truman," she answers, pulling clothes out from her door. "He's texting me again. And he's getting mean," she adds.

"Again?" Derek asks, shocked.

"Yeah," she nods. She sits at her desk and starts lightly applying some makeup to her cheeks and lips.

"Wow," is all he says before leaving. Casey vaguely hears him spit and gargle in the bathroom and she tries not to throw up her banana. Gross.

After she's dressed and ready to go, she deletes the text from Truman. "Casey, let's go," Derek calls from downstairs. It's beyond annoying that with only two cars in the house, she has to share one with Derek. But she makes the best of it. She usually just ignores him with her iPod in playing relatively loudly.

Derek doesn't care, either.

Once at school, Casey brushes past the hundreds of students to get to her locker in the south wing. She meets with her best friend Emily.

"Hey, Em," she greets.

"Hey," Emily replies happily. She looks at Casey for a moment before the realization hits. "Truman texted you again, didn't he?" Casey only nods, focusing more on organizing her locker before class. "Oh my gosh."

Casey nods. "Don't worry about it, Em," she smiles, linking her arm in her best friend's. "Let's get to English."

Fortunately, during English, her phone was on silent. At lunch, she opened her phone to see fourteen new texts from Truman... again. She showed Emily, who scoffed. Almost immediately after their exit from the classroom, Derek and one of his best friends, Ralph, brushed by. On their way to their lockers, they saw Truman coming their way. Preparing herself for his abrupt confrontation, she took a deep breath. However, midway through his stride, three people stopped him and redirected him to the west wing of the school. Her and Emily tried to see who it was but it was useless.

After school, Casey met Derek by their car. As per usual, he was late, but she took the extra time to read a book from her bag.

As absorbed as she was, she began to notice when he was even later than an ordinary day. She peered in the car and saw a note, barely legible. Evidently, it was Derek's writing. She made the effort to read it from the outside of the car. It read:

_Case, I'll be a few extra minutes late. I'm dealing with stuff. The car's unlocked. Get in if you want. - D_

She sighed and opened the door, pulling herself inside, waiting.

After what seemed like a long time, Derek approaches the car and gets in. "Look at you," he mocks. "Reading."

"I'll have you know, Derek, that Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful book."

"Mhm, I'm sure." He chuckles, pulling out of the lot.

"What took you so long, anyway?" she asks suddenly.

He shrugs. "Had to talk to my coach," he replies nonchalantly.

She then understands. They ride home in silence.

After dinner, Casey, feeling stuffed from all of the Chinese food, goes upstairs to work on her homework. She sighs and pulls out 4 text books from her bag and sprawls out on her bed. She begins and is off in her own world, not noticing any of the many texts that chime to her phone.

After about an hour she finishes, grateful for the break. She decides to have a quick shower. She strips down to her bare skin and wraps a large towel around herself, heading to the washroom.

Even on a 5 second walk from her room to the bathroom, Derek still manages to make a snide comment. "Put some clothes on," he shouts from his room.

"Shut up," she replies.

She closes the door and turns the water on, looking forward to the piping hot water. She's welcomed by the steam and warmth when she enters the tub. Closing the curtain, she begins to wash her hair and body within 15 minutes – a record time – and exits again to her bedroom.

She dresses in loose sweat pants and a work out tank top. She wordlessly walks in and takes the keys from Derek's desk and leaves. "Hey," is all he says in protest, obviously too lazy to care. She shoves her phone in her pocket, still not checking the unread messages.

"I'm going to Smelly Nellies' for some cheesecake," she informs her mom, reading a magazine on the couch. "Want anything?"

"No thanks, honey," she says.

"Okay," and she leaves. In her car on the way to the restaurant, Casey is happy. The shower was really refreshing and Derek wasn't a _total _jerk today.

Once there, she pulls up in an empty parking space and enters, greeting the takeout staff and submitting her order. While waiting at a table, she pulls out her phone and notices all of the texts. Each from Truman.

_(1/6) what the fuck what did I say would happen if you got ur family involved?_

_ (2/6) youll fuckin pay for that_

_ (3/6) derek doesn't scare me_

_ (4/6) neither does ralph he's an idiot_

_ (5/6) im so fucking done with you like in toronto people were chill_

_ (6/6) lol are u actually ignoring me. Not a good idea_

Casey's eyes widened. Truman was definitely going insane. She decided she need to talk to her mom about this. And what did Derek do? And Ralph?

She paid for her cheesecake and exited the restaurant, making her way to the parked car only yards away. It was dark. It was nine o' clock. She really couldn't see well. So when Truman appeared in front of her on her way to the car, she was startled. Scared even. "What do you want," she demanded quietly.

"You."

"That's not a good enough answer," she tries to answer without her fear showing. She tries to side-step past him but he gets in the way again. "Stop, Truman. I'm not getting back together with you."

"You don't really have a choice, McDonald," he tells her.

"Truman," she tries again to no avail. "Let me get to my car," she almost shouts in the darkness.

That was enough to make him angry, though. Without so much as a warning, Truman hurls a fist at Casey and punches her in the gut. He skillfully covers her mouth to muffle any scream or yelp in pain. He forcefully drags her in to the surrounding forest, causing her to drop her cheesecake. She struggles and cries, hot tears streaming down her face and on to his hand, still covering her mouth. He throws her to the ground and sits on top of her stomach. He quickly and efficiently pulls out a pocket knife and holds it to her throat to prevent her from making any noise. They weren't exactly far from anyone. It was a small forest of probably 100 trees behind the restaurant.

Without so much as a grunt, he somehow manages to tie her hands up and keep the blade where it was. She suddenly knocks the knife from his hands and hits him in the gut, yelling. "Leave me alone," she screams.

He jumps up and starts slowly approaching her like a lion hunting it's prey. "No," he tells her, getting closer.

Just then, Truman is thrown to the ground without warning when someone abruptly tackles him from the side.

Derek.

She jumps up from the ground (to the best of her ability while her hands are ties) and runs to a tree in the direction he came from.

"She _said_ leave her alone," Derek informs him dangerously. He slowly starts backing up towards Casey, careful not to turn his back in case.

"I know what she said," Truman replies sadistically. Then he pounced at the two. But Derek, being the quick-thinker he was, immediately pulled Casey from the tree to him in one rough yet fluid movement. Her arms braced herself as she hit his chest with no control. They staggered a little, but once Truman hit the tree face-first, he falls unconscious.

Casey stares at him, absolutely terrified, her breathing rugged. She turns slightly to Derek and leans on his chest again. Then, the sobs come out.

Derek, not being a very empathetic person, hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, not really sure of how to address the situation. Then it hit him that a good idea might be to untie her. He quickly pulls back and starts loosening the knots around her wrists, her eyes glistening with tears. He throws the rope to the ground and she wraps her arms around his neck, thankful for him being there. He responds with a hug around the waist.

It was actually really sweet, the first moment they've shared like that together. It was a shame it was under such horrible circumstances. He walks her back to their shared car and they sit inside (doors locked) while he calls 9-1-1 and their parents.

When George shows up with the police to drive the car home, Derek and Casey don't say much. They ride in their car, Casey still a little scared.

At one point while stopped at a four-way intersection, she noticed Derek's death grip on the steering wheel had his knuckles going white. "Are you okay?" she asks, concerned.

He chuckles dryly. "You're the one who was attacked and you ask if _I'm _okay? Way to go Space-Case."

She ignores his comment. "Well, are you? You seem tense?"

"Truman just attacked you, of course I'm tense."

"I'm surprised you care."

He gives her a dirty look. "Obviously I care, Casey," he says. "It's my job to be an asshole to you. Truman doesn't get to."

Casey laughs. "Well thank you. And calm down before you snap the steering wheel, will you?"

He immediately loosens up and attempts to chuckle. The rest of the ride is dead silent.

Once they're home, Casey is offered tea by Nora and Derek bails upstairs to avoid the inevitable tears. George follows him up.

"Are you really okay, Casey?" Nora asks, concerned.

"I am," she insisted. "I'm glad Derek was there. It could have been a lot worse."

Nora squeezes a little more. "I'm so glad."

A thought then occurred to Casey. "Mom, I'll be right back, I need to ask Derek something." She gets up and heads up the stairs slowly, still hurting from the blow she suffered to the stomach from Truman. She heard quiet voices from Derek's room and realized that George was in there.

"I'm not telling her yet," he says to Derek. "But Truman is being charged for assault. You stopped it before it got worse. We don't know if he'll be put in jail or not but I don't want to worry her for now."

"Okay, Dad," Derek says.

"Thanks, you did good."

Casey runs to the bathroom so George doesn't see her. Once he's gone back downstairs, she quietly creeps to his room, careful not to wake the younger kids, and knocks lightly, coming through the open door. He looks up from his computer and stiffens.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," she whispers, still holding her stomach. "It still hurts a little, though."

"Wait, what does?" he demands.

"My stomach. Before you got there, I yelled at Truman and he punched me." She takes a deep, shaky breath. "It's tender." She looks down at her stomach. She slowly lifts her shirt a part way up her stomach, stopping just below her bra to look at the already deep-red bruise. She gasps.

As she's about to touch it, Derek jumps up and pulls her hand back. "Don't," he orders. "It'll make it hurt worse." She looks at him, teary-eyed. She pulls her knees up on her bed and begins to cry. "No," he groans. "Don't cry. You're okay. You're bruised but you're home. You're safe. Please don't cry."

"Derek, I'm not okay," she says in between sobs. He notices she's getting a little louder and closes the door. She continues. "I'm not. I'm still completely scared and I won't be able to sleep. It hurts to breathe."

He sighs and sits beside her awkwardly.

She suddenly remembers why she was there in the first place. "Derek," she asks. "Why were you there, anyway?"

He chuckles. "You never asked what kind of cheesecake I wanted. I came to yell at you."

She rolls her eyes and shoves him a little, laughing. "I never did get to eat that."

Then, almost instantly, she felt sick. Her stomach tightened and she felt like she was going to throw up. She stood clumsily, almost falling in to the door. Derek jumps up and holds on to her while guiding her to the bathroom and helping her lean over. She leans down and throws up in the toilet. She starts clutching her stomach with one hand and the seat with the other.

Soon enough, she's also vomiting blood.

"Derek," she croaks, taking a short break to speak.

Derek, who had turned away from the horrible sight, looked back at the ill girl on the tile floor. He noticed the blood at her corner of her mouth and in the toilet. His eyes widened and he barrelled downstairs.

Casey, exhausted, leans her forehead on her arm. It was amazing how comfortable the cold, hard floor felt when you're sick.

Soon, Derek returns with Nora and George. Nora frantically takes her place beside her daughter and starts rubbing her back. "Casey, darling, we have to get to the hospital," she tells her. Casey stands with the help of Nora and Derek while George stands there, helplessly. "George, I'll take Derek. You stay here with the kids. We know that Derek can't take care of them, anyway," she says, stepping away from Casey and giving him a kiss.

"Hey," Derek protests.

A small laugh escapes Casey's lips while she leans on him for support. She almost falls but Derek, having the muscles of a professional wrestler and the reflexes of a professional hockey player, holds her tighter.

"We should go," Nora says then, taking her place beside Casey. George follows them down and to the car, Derek taking the driving seat, Nora and Casey taking the back.

George wishes them luck, a concerned expression on her face.

On their way to hospital, Casey starts to get really warm. Nora notices first. "Derek, do you have an air conditioner in here?" He responds by turning it on and facing the fans in the general direction of Casey. He was far too tired for this but wasn't going to fall asleep now.

Pulling in to the ER parking lot, they jump out and help Casey in to the hospital. Derek practically had to carry her because she was only partly conscious. Nora immediately explains the situation and pulls Casey's health card from her purse to provide the staff with her information. A team of 3 people are summoned to the lobby area with a wheelchair and help her in.

She looked so fragile Derek wasn't sure how to really react. He's not used to not making at least one snide comment about her for this long. As she's rolled away with Nora tailing behind, he's told he has to stay in the waiting room. He takes a seat by an aquarium and stares at the sports highlights, not really caring.

He notices a vending machine by the doors and is grateful for his wallet. He pays for a bag of chips and a bottle of root beer and goes back to his seat. Not long after, Nora joins him, also asked to leave during the x-rays and tests. She decides to buy a bottle of Ginger-ale and a granola bar and picks up a magazine on the table beside her, neither of them saying a thing to each other.

"I'm scared," she says quietly, not looking up.

"I know," he replies, closing his eyes.

She looks at him and notices his exhaustion. "Get some sleep," she whispers, patting his arm.

He tries but it doesn't seem to work. Memories flash through his mind like a badly edited movie. One that would make him frustrated watching it given his amazing skills.

All of his memories seem to revolve around Casey and their blended family.

_The day his dad told the three kids about his second marriage._

_ "Now kids, as you know, Nora and I have been dating for a while now and you've met her. You liked her, I think. Well, I asked her to marry me," George tells them._

_ "Yay, Daddy," Marti exclaims, jumping in to her father's lap._

_ "Way to go, G," Derek teases._

_ "Thanks, guys. They're moving in after the marriage."_

_ "What do you mean '_they_'?" Derek demands._

_ "Nora has two girls, Casey and Elizabeth."_

_ "Yay, 3 girls!" Marti was pleased._

_ "Dad, really? There's hardly enough room for us?" Edwin complains._

_ "Dad! Why?" Derek was furious._

The day they all met was worse.

_"I'm Casey," said his soon-to-be step-sister. Her hair was pulled back and was awfully cheerful. Derek could tell it was an act and didn't bother pretending._

_ "Yeah, whatever. I'm Derek."_

They hated each other instantly.

Memories started pouring in at fast paces.

_A year after they met, their relationship was just as bad. Casey hated Derek and he hated her. She wasn't horrible to look at but her personality and feminist attitude made Derek want to throw up. When she joined D-Rock (Derek's band) for a gig she totally changed to make them look good. She really helped them get noticed._

And another.

_"De-rek!" Casey was notorious for her signature cry of his name whilst emphasizing the last syllable. It usually meant a prank when better than expected for Derek or she finally had enough with __his insensitivity._

_ One time in particular, when he replaced her shampoo with pudding, she was so mad. He heard her scream from the living room and fell out of his chair laughing. He was grounded. That didn't stop her from returning the favour and squirting the sham-pudding all over him when she was done._

And when she helped him past Physics and he helped her with Marti's camp.

And when she helped him write a song for Sally.

And when he went insane about this guy cheating on her and told her

And when she dated his best friend.

And when she taught him to be a better driver.

And when they teased each other about going to the same university.

And tonight. When she was in danger and he protected her.

When she was so fragile. So broken and defeated. She was only punched but she's never been through it to have experience. Derek has been checked in the boards during hockey, whacked with the stick and piled on. He has wrestled with his friends as kids before. He was quick, agile. She wasn't. She didn't have to be.

He didn't realize until then that he cared about her more than he seemed to.

He's snapped out of his half-dream-half-awake state when a doctor comes to tell them about Casey's situation.

The doctor, an older lady with glasses and a small frame, sits across from the two of them. "We did the tests," she begins. "Her injuries appear to be worse than you thought. She's bruised as badly as she is from two broken ribs. What exactly happened?"

Nora, teary-eyed, turns to Derek. He sits up and tries to explain. "Uh, I just went to the restaurant to bug her and saw her getting hurt in the forest-thing beside it. I went and saw him tying her wrists together but that's it. I stopped him at that point." He thinks for a moment. "But she told me a few minutes before she started throwing up that he punched her when she started yelling. Probably because she was making it more public."

Nora puts her head in her lap to refrain from sobbing hysterically.

The doctor continues. "She's been given a room and is on pain medication to reduce swelling. She's asleep at the moment. The hardest part was getting her to stay awake during the x-rays."

"What about the blood?" Nora asks.

"It was just because of the impact on her ribs," she explains. She will be fine. She can go in the morning, but I'll write you a prescription for some antibiotics."

"What will that do?" Derek asks.

"It will let her heal faster," she says before walking away.

"_Wait,_" Nora calls. "Can we see her?"

She turns around and smiles. "Follow me."

The two of them are redirected down a small corridor with ominous white lights. They're brought to Casey's room and are provided with chairs to sit in. The doctor leaves.

Derek just sort of stares at Casey and Nora weeps.

For the next 25 minutes they sit there, silent, watching Casey breath rhythmically.

Suddenly, she stirs a little, startling them. She grumbles incoherently and her eyes flutter open, squinting at the light in the room.

"Casey?" Nora leans down.

"Mom?" she whispers.

"And me, hello," Derek says, providing the comic relief.

Casey attempts to laugh.

"I'll go call George," Nora says to them. She kisses Casey's forehead and rushes out.

"I'm surprised you're here," Casey says as Derek pulls his chair closer.

"Meh, well I'm not totally heartless," he laughs.

"Thanks for pretending to care earlier," she chuckles.

"I don't always pretend," he says. "Watching you throw up blood wasn't exactly amusing."

She smiles.

"And you know, the fact that Truman beat you up wasn't funny either. He's lucky I don't kill him. I'm rude but he's just an ass."

She grimaces at his language but chuckles again. "Well thanks, anyway, Derek."

"No problem, Space-Case. I'm always here." Those feelings began to creep up on him again. He wasn't sure how to deal with it.

"I know," she replies. "You know, Derek, you're really a great brother."

"_Step_ brother," he corrects her.

She scoffs. "What's the difference, really?"

The urge was too much and he suddenly leans down and locks his lips with hers. He stays there for a moment. He notices that she's kissing him back and that she's really good. He pulls away for air and leans back in his seat. "That. That's the difference," he says finally.

She looks at him, wide-eyed. Neither of them can really believe what just happened. He just kissed his awful step-sister. And she kissed him back. He's never been more grateful for technicalities in his life, because _technically _what happened wasn't illegal and it wasn't wrong. It wasn't him kissing his blood-related sister. She was a girl who was married in to the family. No big deal.

But the fact was that nothing would be the same again.

But neither of them wanted it to be, anyway.


End file.
